The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to an apparatus and method for diagnostic medical imaging, such as Nuclear Medicine (NM) imaging. In NM imaging, systems with multiple detectors or detector heads may be used to capture an image of a subject, or to scan a region of interest. For example, the detectors may be positioned near the subject to acquire NM data, which is used to generate a three-dimensional (3D) image of the subject.
Some systems may have moving detectors. For example, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) systems may have moving detector heads, such as gamma detectors positioned to focus on a region of interest. A number of gamma cameras may be moved (e.g., rotated) to different angular positions for acquiring image data. The acquired image data is then used to generate the 3D images.
Resolution of gamma detectors is a convolution of the detector resolution (mainly pixel size) and the collimator resolution. Collimator resolution degrades with the distance of the collimator from the subject. As a result of the configuration of these systems, including the detectors and collimators, the gamma cameras often have to be placed at a distance from the subject, for example to avoid collisions between gamma cameras as the gamma cameras are advanced toward a patient or other object to be imaged. Positioning of the detector heads as the detector heads are radially advanced may result in reduced image quality for detectors that are overly far away from a patient, and/or collisions between detectors as the detectors are positioned, and/or inconvenient lengths of set up time to position the detectors.
The movement of the detector heads may be troublesome due to the weight of the detector heads. In some cases, a detector head may become stuck, preventing a patient from moving, and thereby trapping the patient. In some cases, a broken detector head movement mechanism may result in an unsafe force being applied to the subject.